Chapter 2

Vanessa spoke up, "Ethan, I've been meaning to talk to you about the car dealership."

Her voice pulled me back to reality.

We were alone in the hospital room, and she smiled as she set down the glass vase, then reached for my hand.

She continued, "He just graduated and it was his birthday, so I got him a gift. You're not jealous, are you?"

She said it so casually, like she'd given him some cheap trinket instead of a luxury car.

I stepped away from her touch. "You like guys like that?"

The room went quiet.

Vanessa's expression changed, and she rubbed her temples. "I didn't tell you because I was worried you'd read too much into it."

She added quickly, "Andrew and I are just friends. We—"

"I don't care," I cut her off. "I didn't catch you in bed together, but I don't tolerate betrayal, Vanessa. Keep your feelings in check or this is over."

Vanessa looked up at me in disbelief. "You don't trust me?"

I looked down at her without expression. My silence was answer enough.

She opened her mouth to respond, but her phone rang.

Andrew's name lit up the screen.

Vanessa hesitated before answering, and Andrew's soft voice filled the room. "Ms. Brooks, is Ethan giving you a hard time? Even if he's upset, don't fight with him, okay?"

He continued, "I ordered you some chicken soup from that deli you love. I didn't want Ethan to get the wrong idea, so I'm having it delivered instead of bringing it myself."

Two sentences, and he'd managed to play the victim while reminding me how close he was to Vanessa.

I stood still and didn't move.

Vanessa glanced at my expression and hung up the phone.

A cold laugh rose in my chest. I was done playing games with her, so I turned and walked toward the door.

"Ethan!" Vanessa called out, her voice urgent. "Are you really mad?"

She continued, her tone pleading. "I promise I'll stay away from him and never contact him again. Please don't be so cold to me, okay? My leg hurts."

I turned my head slightly, and my voice came out ice cold. "If your leg hurts, call a doctor. I have work at the office. Get some rest."

I walked out of the hospital, and the cold wind hit my face, barely cooling the rage burning inside me.

I pulled out my phone and called my assistant. "Dig into Andrew's background. I think he had something to do with my brake failure."

After my last car service, my brakes failed on the highway, and I had to swerve into a ditch to avoid a major crash.

That evening, the regional manager from a high-end luxury boutique showed up at my door with dozens of expensive watches, all hand-delivered on Vanessa's orders.

"Ms. Brooks treats you so well," the manager said with an admiring smile. "This kind of devotion is truly enviable."

I glanced at the watches, and the whole thing felt pathetic.

I looked at him and said flatly, "Don't you know that cheating women always shower their husbands with 'I love yous' to ease their guilt?"

Vanessa thought I was throwing a tantrum, like those husbands who discover their wives are cheating and make a big scene, but eventually take the gifts and let it go.

But she forgot who I was. I was Ethan Grant.

The sole heir to the Grant family empire. I took over the family business at eighteen and fought my way to the top of Wall Street by twenty-two.

I came back and married her at twenty-five in a business arrangement, not because I couldn't live without her, but because our families had history, and she promised me a lifetime of loyalty.

The irony was that she threw those vows away after only five years.